As an intense organized Virgo I am pretty detailed about everything but I agree with you in terms of your reply to that post; really criticizing his sineibe opens and hold a record. Even I'm beyond that nonsense. Just enjoy the friggen music.
This is one of the problems in terms of A / B ing. They will all sound somewhat different, issues always do to some extent. Then there is our varied rigs , rooms and ears.
I preordered from Amazon UK and should be getting my lps today and Wednesday. If they're sending it on Wednesday, you should be getting it next week.
I received my Amazon.uk order today. All three lp's say made in EU, pressed at Optimal. (Sorry if this has already been answered and I missed it).
Just got 'Atom Heart Mother' and 'Obscured by Clouds' in the mail today ..... sound amazing, better than my CD's. 'Meddle' will be in hopefully Wednesday, not sure why I pre-ordered all 3 from Amazon.ca over a month ago.
Just got all 3, as well. Perfectly flat, no scratches. My only question is why OBC doesn't have a poly lined sleeve like the others. No biggie, just wondering.
Got my copy of Meddle on Friday from Amazon.us. Had to return it. Noticeable loud Pops on both sides. Some smeared substance in the middle portion of side 2, no label for side 2 and a good amount my of warping. They are sending me another copy. Curious, if there are options moons yet in U.S. Or U.K. Version. Should I go for UK? Has anyone else had issues with Meddle as I described above?
You are right. All three say "Made in the EU" but only OBC explicitly says pressed at Optimal. I haven't opened the shrink wrap on any of them yet. Sorry if I posted incorrect/misleading information!
Shrinkwrap and hype stickers can and should be pulled off as a single piece, folded (not creasing stickers of course), and placed in an envelope along with the receipt and the download, etc. That goes in the original inner sleeve as you will have cleaned the LP and placed it in a new clean MFSL inner sleeve or the like. If you want the outer jacket to stay lovely you will need an outer sleeve -- and that's a very cheap way of keeping the jacket safe from most normal wear-- and can make covers really pop if you use the nice super clear ones. It is just plain dumb to touch vinyl. You either get that and understand why, or you don't. Either way, it's very simple to handle vinyl without touching the grooves so why do it wrong and degrade the music when it's just as easy to do it right? Do you need a risk assessment for that? I think not. I don't need to tell the OP what's wrong-- it's his business; my comments are for anyone that might be wondering about best practices vs. everything else. And I don't find that it takes less time or more time to handle vinyl rightly or wrongly-- it takes the same time. Like drying a car with a dirty towel vs. a nice clean microfiber cloth-- same effort-- but one approach maintains your car's beauty and the other slowly degrades it. So why not do a thing the right way in the first place? Oh, and those Pink Floyd reissues? They're spot on. I'm in the USA and the vinyl quality here at least is first class. Flat. quiet, and centered. Playback yields plenty of bass and dynamics. The covers are gorgeous and if anything the print work has better color saturation and fidelity than most originals back in the day. I've reviewed these using two tables -- belt (SOTA Star Sapphire w/ Soundsmith Hyperion cart) and direct drive (Pioneer PLX-1000/w/ mods/Soundsmith Paua cart). I think I like the direct drive playback with these LP's best. Can't wait for DSOTM, WYWH, and Animals!!! ~Wes
My US copy came with a poly-lined black sleeve, the only difference being it has the shaved corners due to the rounded edges on the OBC cover.
Making my way through my recent Floyd acquisitions again... The Wall sound even worse to me, but OBC sounds a lot better. Go figure.
I received the US and EU pressings of AHM, Meddle and OBC. I played the US copies since I received those first. The sonic quality completely blew me away. I don't think I'll mess with opening the EU pressings. I don't think they could be any better. I think this is the best batch so far IMHO.
I'm sorry this is OT but the readers of this thread must bear witness. Gov't Mule did indeed play One of the Days Saturday night in St. Pete! I had a TOTAL FIT when they commenced the 2nd set with the Meddle opener and then they did one better and followed it with Fearless, with Warren on a 12-string. I lost my mind!!! I had been A/B'ing my old Harvest and the new Meddle that afternoon so I was marinated in the album when I went to the show. Gov't Mule Setlist at Jannus Live, St. Petersburg » So that's what having your mind blown is like. I'd say there's a decent chance that Gov't Mule was digging the new Meddle lp this weekend.